Unique wedding reception - a good place for a big party that's NOT a reception hall?

Question

I'm brainstorming for unique wedding ideas, but I have some very specific criteria:

1) I need to be able to accommodate 300 people,

2) I would prefer something NOT in a banquet hall, and,

3) cheaper would be better

Other than that, I'm game for anything. Indoor, outdoor, unusual, anywhere that could be pretty or cute. If you can think of something in the Toronto area, that would be even BETTER!

Answer 1

I have two suggestions:

- Casa Loma

- Boat (The Toronto Harbour cruises are beautiful)

If you want to save money consider having your wedding at an "off" time or an an "off" day.

good luck!

Answer 2

Just a few ideas....

-A restaurant you've always liked/ wanted to go to

-A beautiful garden party. Does Toronto have a public Botanic Gardens that hosts weddings/events? You could have it at sunset and use tons of white Christmas lights or hanging lanterns!

-A cool museum hall

-An interesting historic building/ mansion

Just a few ideas.....

Also, I think I might try to save money by serving several kinds of appetizers, rather than a formal sit-down dinner.

Answer 3

I don't know the Toronto area well, but we have a very nice zoo in Chicago (actually, we have two very nice zoos), with great banquet facilities.  We got married there: ceremony in a beautifully-landscaped pavilion, cocktails at the giraffe house (we had a choice of five habitats), and the reception in an on-site banquet room with a balcony overlooking the zoo.  The event was after-hours so there weren't strangers in the middle of our wedding.  We got some fabulous photos, and our guests had a great time.

I wouldn't say it was cheap, but the price was good compared to other non-traditional venues we considered (an historic mansion, one of several museums, a plant conservatory, public park facilities, lobby space in architecturally-significant buildings downtown).  You might try those kinds of facilities, too.

Answer 4

Any ice rinks in your area?  That might be cool.  Or Museums can sometimes be rented (not sure how many they hold).  Vineyards too.

Answer 5

Vineyards/wineries are cool.  Just Google it for your area...

Answer 6

Toronto Botanical Gardens (Edwards Garden) has a hall, it's rather informal. I wasn't that thrilled with the price, but it was a lot cheaper than most halls with easy-to-find websites or ads. (I got a really good deal on my hall, so 1.5K was too much for me).

I know some parks have facilities for ceremonies, but I'm not sure about receptions. Try calling Toronto Parks & Rec, see what they have.

Black Creek has an "Event Pavillion" which hosts up to 325 people. (They have a lot of other cool places, but none which hold 300 people).

That's all I can think of in terms of specifics, others have given better general advice.

Answer 7

do it at a theme park:)